


Candles

by begrudgedoctopus



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: F/M, Gen, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-10
Updated: 2018-04-08
Packaged: 2018-09-16 17:03:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9281441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/begrudgedoctopus/pseuds/begrudgedoctopus
Summary: Post-apocalyptic AU: Allura has been held prisoner by ZARKON Corp., and a small group of Rebels save her. She joins them as they look for Matt, and with is help, they could finally destroy ZARKON Corp once and for all, if only they could find him.





	1. Rescue

**Author's Note:**

> aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Allura didn’t know how long it had been. In the dark room, there was no day or night. Sunrise and sunset weren’t even distant memories anymore. The way the moon looked in the sky, she couldn’t remember. They fed her only enough to keep her alive, the same with water. Her clothes were beyond rags, thin and worn and torn at the seams. The only light she’s seen is the harsh light of whatever building she was in. It’s bright, and shines into her windowless room. Twirling a lock of her long dirty hair, she whispered to herself, “Father, please, give me the strength to survive. Help me.” A faint ruckus disturbed her prayers. She shot to her feet, using the little strength she had left. The noises grew closer, and she realized they were the sounds of fighting. Someone was fighting her guards, but she couldn’t tell if they were winning. Suddenly, silence. Allura crept away from the door, still pressed to the wall to listen.

“How many prisoners did you say they had, Shiro? What was it Keith, 8?”

“Shut up Pidge, if there’s anyone here, we’re saving them.”

They were here to save her? Not just her, but the other prisoners too? Don’t they know she’s the only one left? Every few months, they took someone, and they never came back. Allura thanked her lucky stars that she was pretty, they’d never wanted to get rid of her. The dark-skinned girl was pulled out of her thoughts by a loud bang.

“Hello? Anybody here?”

“Hunk, it’s an empty room.”

“Just checking.”

Allura listened to them break the other doors, checking each room for prisoners. As the footsteps approached her door, she retreated to the corner. BANG The door swung open forcefully, and she shrunk back.

“Hello, any- GUYS! Get over here!”

“Oh my god Lance shut up, we’re here”

“Yeah but-”

“What is it Lance?”

“Well I was tryi-”

“Oh my god there’s a person!”

“Don’t crowd around her, give her some space guys.”

A warm hand was placed on her shoulder. Only flinching a little, Allura looked up at the man hovering above her. His eyes looked tired, exhausted even, yet somehow soft and kind.

“Can you come with us? We need to get out of here soon, alright?”

Allura grabbed his outstretched hand, and with a bit of help, pulled herself off of the ground. The same warm hand holds her steady, now joined by a cold metal one.

“Can you walk?”

She nods yes, but he keeps one hand on her back anyway. Quickly leaving the building, Allura realized where she was. A hospital. They’d been keeping her in an old mop closet. She shuddered at the faint clinical smell. While walking out of the re-purposed hospital, Allura got a good look at her saviors. She can see them talking, but can’t summon the energy to listen. The man guiding her steps was tall, muscular, and had a white forelock along with jet black hair. Beside him is a heavy set man, with coffee colored skin and a warm face, just like the faint memories of her father. On the other side of her was a short person, man or woman, she couldn’t tell. Deciding to settle on ‘person’, Allura looked at them. Small, with spiky, short blond hair, and wide eyes, Allura couldn’t help but notice a grim determination tainting their features, along with, could it be disappointment? _‘I guess they didn’t find who they were looking for’_ A glance behind her showed two lanky boys trailing behind them, seemingly arguing. _‘How can a rebel even have time for a relationship?’_ She wondered. One of the boys was pale, with dark hair, the other was tanner, with medium brown hair. Her saviors all seemed very different, and she wondered how they could work together, until she turned back to face the man with the bionic hand, and she realized something while gazing at his pensive yet determined expression. _‘It’s him. He’s leading them, not just leading, guiding. He’s not dictating, he’s a part of the team.’_ Allura laughed gently as her head rolled back and a dazed smile spread across her face. She didn’t see the glances of concern shoot through the team, all looking at one another, speaking some silent language. Once they had made it outside, Allura was pulled into the back of a truck. As familiar memories of being taken flooded through her, she started to struggle, trying to escape. Arms curled around her waist from behind her as she did, and the same calming voice from earlier washed over her. “Shh… we’re trying to help you, alright? We’re not gonna hurt you, okay?” Nodding weakly in acknowledgement, Allura relaxed herself into the body behind her. One arm hooked itself under her legs, and the man picked up her thin form with ease. She closed her eyes, sleep already desperately chasing after her, and she drifted off.

“Shiro?”

“Hmm?”

“Should we wake her?”

“No, she needs to rest, we all do. We’ll all get some shut-eye when we get back.”


	2. Sunrise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiro and Allura get acquainted, and Pidge helps Allura not be totally traumatized

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so i found this?? i wrote another part?? and never posted it??? why do i do this?????????????????

As Allura woke up, she looked through bleary eyes at a strange room. From the dull morning light, she could-  _ ‘Morning?’ _ She looked out to the source of this light, seeing an old, dirty window in the way of the warm light. She stood up groggily, and made her way towards the window, plopping down on the floor. Gazing out the window, a peaceful sort of wonder spread through the room. She would have closed her eyes, if she didn’t want to mis the wonder in front of her.

 

“Hey,” a voice called out, the same one from yesterday. “Sleep well?”

 

“Yes, thank you,” Allura responded “I never caught your name.”

 

“Shiro. What’s yours?”

 

“Allura.”

 

“Well then Allura, mind if I join you?”

 

“You already have, it seems.”

 

Shiro hadn’t really noticed that he’d moved to her side, and rubbed his neck bashfully, “Yes, it seems I have.”

 

He settled down onto the floor beside her, and they watched the sunrise in peace. Suddenly, Allura spoke, “Can I ask you some questions?”

 

“O-of course.”

 

“Why did you rescue me? I know that you’re a part of the rebellion against Z.A.R.K.O.N. Enterprises, but why me?”

 

“Pidge, we thought Pidge’s brother might have been there. We intercepted a transmission that said there were hostages at the old hospital, and that they were being transported soon. Pidge thought her brother might be there, but no such luck.”

 

“If Pidge’s brother had been there, would you still have saved me?”

  
An uncomfortable silence fell over the pair. They both turned back to the window, neither one wanting to continue the conversation. A knock on the doorframe startled the two of them, but they both seemed relieved to be out of the situation, but their relief was short lived. Shiro recognized Pidge immediately, while Allura was still unsure of the identities of Shiro’s teammates.

 

“What is it Pidge?”

 

_ ‘Well. So that’s Pidge. What were the other names? There’s Shiro, Pidge, Hunk, Keith, Lance. But which is which?’ _

 

“We got a message from Shay, she’s requesting reinforcements.”

 

“I’ll handle it. Thanks Pidge.” Shiro walked out the room, patting Pidge on the shoulder. Pidge lingered in the doorway, unsure if she should enter.

 

“Allura, right?”

 

Allura glanced at her curiously, “Yes, but when did you-” Her question was cut short by Pidge’s hasty answer, “I was in the doorway for a bit.”

 

“So you heard-”

 

“Yeah.”

 

Yet again, an uncomfortable silence fell over the room. Allura desperately wanted to know the answer: Would they have saved her if they had found Pidge’s brother?

 

“We would’ve you know.”

 

“What?”

 

“Even if we had found my brother, we still would’ve helped you.”

 

“Wh-why? If you just wanted to save your brother, why bother?”

 

“We’re constantly losing members, we need the men. And we were told that there were 8 prisoners, we came with the goal to save all of them, but-”

 

“There was only me.”

 

“Yeah. Do you- do you know what happened to them? Did you ever see them?”

 

Allura though for a moment, trying to recall hearing anything from the guards about moving the prisoners. “I-I’m not sure where they took them, but it was always the poorly behaved prisoners that they moved to a different facility. I saw some of the prisoners, do you have a picture of him? I might be able to…” she trailed off as Pidge fumbled for something in her pocket. A small scrap of paper was presented right in front of Alluras nose. Pidge supplied Allura with a name, “Matthew Holt”. She reached for the paper, pulling it back from her face to get a better look. Allura bit her lip, trying to recall the face. She hadn’t seen many prisoners, but the face seemed familiar, because well, he looked just like Pidge. She closed her eyes, thinking back before she met Pidge, back to her time as a prisoner, and she focused her attention to his name.  _ ‘Matthew. Matthew. Matthew.’ _ A brief memory floated through her brain.  _ ‘“Matthew Holt. We found him snooping around one of our bases.” There was a sudden light in Allura’s cell, and a boy was thrown into the room. “Don’t worry princess, we’ll move him soon.” A dark chuckle left the guards lips as he swung the door shut, and locked it. A few days later, two guards came to take Matthew away.’ _ Allura sighed, disappointed that her memory didn’t yield more fruitful results.

 

“I’m sorry Pidge, but I only saw Matthew for a little bit. He-he didn’t talk much, but I think I know where they might have moved him,” Allura said with a grimace.

 

“Well? Where is he?” Pidge interrogated frantically.

 

“R-right! There was a part of the prison that the guards always talked about, I think it was in the basement. It was a restricted part of the prison, some sub-level basement somewhere.”

 

“Could you find it if we went back? ‘Cause if you can find it, I could hack us in and we-”

 

“PIDGE!” A shrill voice interrupted their conversation.

 

“Lance, I’m busy!” Pidge called back.

 

Lance entered the room, jaw dropping as he looked at Allura. He slid up to her and swung his arm around her shoulders. Suddenly flirtatious, he spoke, “You’re so much more beautiful when you’re awake. Not that I watched you sleep or anything, I mean I kinda did, but like not in a weird way or anything-”

 

“I don’t think there’s a not weird way to watch someone sleep.” Another new voice emerged from the doorway. The trio looked away from each other, each with a different feeling in their eyes. Allura, curiosity. Pidge, annoyance. Lance, rage.

 

“Shut up Keith!” Lance hissed harshly. Keith stayed leaning against the doorframe, rolling his eyes and picking his nails.

 

“Whatever Lance, you’re obviously overcompensating for something with all that flirting. Who knows, could be that you’ve got a-” Lance had shot up halfway through Keith’s crude statement, and slapped his hand over Keith’s mouth. The black-haired man held his hands up in defense and walked away. Grumbling, Lance left the room, following Keith.

 

Allura turned to Pidge, hearing her mumble. “Hmm? Did you say something?”

 

“Nah, just thinking out loud,” Pidge said, dismissing Allura’s worries. A heavy pause cast itself over the room. The two of them stared off at the horizon, the sun now higher in the sky.


End file.
